The MINI GP Roadster

Month: April 2016

When I stuck the landing with the old car, on the rear end, one casualty was the rear section of my Milltek exhaust. The pipes out of the mufflers, to the tips, were badly bent, and one tip was mangled. I was waiting until the car was otherwise operational, to take it to the shop and get that fixed. Finally, the planets aligned, and there was a dry day, when I had time, and the shop had 1.75″ stainless pipe.

First, chop out the mangled stuff.

Then fabricate some new pieces of mandrel-bent 1.75″ stainless, slip-fit over the existing pipe so it could be rotated to the perfect position. TIG weld in place, with a brace, and add the original GP0769 JCW tips.

I intentionally had them protrude a bit more than they do on the OEM JCW exhaust, because I like the way it looks. The tips are affixed with set screws like the JCW exhaust, so I can adjust them later, if I change my mind.

Kudos to RJ’s Custom Piping in Raleigh, for doing a great job salvaging a mangled exhaust. They also built my custom center section that mates up to my RMW race header.

While the car was on the lift, I played around with the battery box skid plate / diffuser. I scored a set of new Group4 diffusers, but I know they won’t fit with the current exhaust configuration. As I looked at things back there, I thought I could probably fabricate something that would improve the airflow, short of a true “diffuser” setup. Playing with the OEM battery box plate, I think I can make something perfectly functional out of three of them, that will create smooth airflow from the underbody panels back to the rear bumper.

I’m going to get a couple more of these plates and see what I can do. Stay tuned.

When I bought the OMP HTE-R XL halo seat, I thought I might also get an OMP WRC-R XL, which is basically the same seat with no halo. Then I could use that as the passenger seat on the track (for when I have an instructor), and swap them to drive in the WRC-R on the street.

But, after driving around for several days on the street in the halo seat, I decided that I LOVE it. And the halo is really no big deal on the street, given that the car is definitely not a daily driver.

So then, I thought I might just keep the Corbeau LG1 passenger seat. But I really wanted another high-back seat like the OMP, and really wanted another OMP. But, to accommodate the broadest range of passenger body types, I wanted an XL seat, and OMP only sells a couple of styles XL track buckets.

And this probably won’t pass tech inspection at the track…

Then I stumbled upon the OMP “Style” tuner seat. A nice, affordable, high back, supportive, reclining tuner seat, that compliments the race seat, and will fit more body type / size passengers than any bucket seat. And is 6-point harness ready. Sold.

Ordered last week from RacingSeatsUSA.com, and it arrived today.

These are REALLY nice. Not as “cushy” as my Corbeaus, but plenty comfortable. A nice combination of “airtec” fabric and microsuede. Looks pretty. Micro-adjustable reclining mechanism. Integral slots for shoulder harnesses and anti-submarine belt(s). Tubular steel frame, much lighter than an OEM seat. Made in China, but nice.

I decided to rob the OEM sliders off my original Blimey cabrio passenger seat. Just had to fab some simple brackets to attach the seat to the sliders, and to raise it up and tilt it a bit. Made these from a couple of 3/16″ steel straps from the hardware store, cut, bent and drilled to mate the seat bolt arrangement to the sliders. Worked great, first try.

I think the pair looks fantastic. Now I can sell the Corbeaus. I think I already have a buyer lined up…

Parts arrived, from Stephen at eMINIparts.com. So I immediately cut them up and banged on them with a BFH and drilled some holes and stuff.

Doesn’t look like much, here…

Looks better with a little paint.

And even better on the car.

“Stealth diffuser”. OK, so it’s not finned / compartmented. But it’s a ton better than the giant open cavities in front of the rear bumper that used to be back there.

With the track wheels and splitter installed, I have about 2.5″ under the splitter in the front. And almost 9″ out the back. I suspect it’s gotta be better than the aero nightmare I had going on the last time I was at the track, with the mushed exhaust hanging down back there.

If I get ambitious, I might add some fins to it. If I get really ambitious, I’ll rework the exhaust and install the Group 4 diffusers I have coming. But I’ll see how this does, first.

So Chris talked me into caring about the life of my instructor, when on the track.

While the OMP tuner seat is idea as a street passenger seat, Chris was completely correct that I bought my halo driver’s seat for a reason… to make me safer. And it really wouldn’t be cool to turn an instructor into a quadriplegic. So I posted up on my local track club forum, looking for a gently used halo seat that would suit this purpose. Within 30 minutes, one turned up.

So I bought it. Sabelt Taurus. Just need to add some brackets, then I can swap this in for track days, with a clear conscience.

Yes, this is backwards…

I have this sorted chronologically from the beginning, to the most recent posts, so it reads like the story of GPR769. You won't see the most recent posts first, like most blogs. If you'd like to skip ahead to the newest posts, pick the month you want to start at in the Archives index, below.